Getting to know Group B: Pair of former champions meet

MIAMI (United States) – In our review of the BCL Americas Season 5 zones, it’s time to look at Group B, featuring Quimsa, Nacional and São Paulo, three storied squads from this competition. In fact, Quimsa and São Paulo have already been crowned champions in the past.

Quimsa (ARG) 

The team hailing from Santiago del Estero has been one of the most dominant squads in Argentina in the last 5 years. They boast all sorts of trophies in their case, both domestic and international. Right now, they’re the LNB defending champions and in the current season, at the time of publication, are leading the standings once again.

Appearances (including 2023-24): 5
This will be their 5th BCLA appearance, meaning they’ve taken part in each edition. They were the inaugural champions during the 2019-20 season. Last season, they finished in 4th place after notching their second consecutive semifinal berth.

Head Coach: Leandro Ramella
He arrived at the club late last season and was still able to lead his team to the domestic title. The young Argentinian coach recently won the gold medal at the Pan American Games while helming his country’s National Team despite bringing a squad with mostly new faces.

2023-24 Roster:
Sebastián Acevedo
Romero Amprimo
Emiliano Basabe
Raymond Bastardo
Juan Brussino
Joseph Caicedo
Tayavek Galizzi
Matías Pikaluk
Fabián Ramírez Barrios
Brandon Robinson
Fortunato Rolfi
Bruno Sansimoni
Eduardo Vasirani
Federico Zezular

Outlook:
With a title and a pair of semifinal appearances on their resume, they are always among the favorites to win it all. They’re also having a great performance in their domestic league. Brandon Robinson, Fabián Ramírez Barrios and Juan Brussino are the team’s offensive leaders and they added help on the boards with center Tayavek Galizzi.

Nacional (URU) 

Last year, they reached the Finals of the Uruguayan League. This season they started with great performances, and at time of publication, they lead the LUB standings with just one loss.

Appearances (including 2023-24): 2
They’re back at BCLA after participating in the 2021-22 season. On that occasion they couldn’t get past the Group Stage, so their objective this time around will be to improve on that result.

Head Coach: Álvaro Ponce
He arrived at the squad last season and led them to the LUB Finals after the team had a negative record during the regular season and an 8th place finish. The team is now firing on all cylinders and looks poised to have a great showing at BCL Americas.

2023-24 Roster:
Alejandro Acosta
Abel Agarbado
Demian Álvarez
Gonzalo Álvarez
Eric Anderson
Lucas Fernández
Franco Giorgetti
Tiago Leites
Gonzalo Martínez
Agustín Méndez
Sebatián Ottonello
Patricio Prieto
Gastón Semiglia
Michael Smith
Eduardo Superi
Joaquín Taboada

Outlook:
They’re about to go against two of the most dangerous teams in the competition, but their promising start in the Uruguayan League and the presence of a pair of top foreign options on the roster like Eric Anderson (formerly of Quimsa) and Michael Smith (who played for SESI Franca) gives them hope of advancing to the next round. They also feature Argentinian Franco Giorgetti and Uruguayan stalwarts Gastón Semiglia and Sebatián Ottonello.

São Paulo FC (BRA) 

The paulistas return to the competition after being absent last season. They won the honor by finishing in second place in Brazil’s NBB. During the current season, they’re sitting midtable with the same number of wins and losses at the time of this publication.

Appearances (including 2023-24): 3
They have left their mark in their previous 2 appearances in the competition. In their debut campaign in 2020-21, they advanced to the semifinals and finished 4th. A year later (2021-22) they won the whole thing behind a magnificent Bruno Caboclo, who put on the most dominant individual performances in the history of BCLA.

Head Coach: Bruno Mortari
The son of Claudio, despite his short resume, has honored his father’s legacy and become successful on the bench. In his debut season, he won BCLA and coached in the Intercontinental Cup and Liga Sudamericana, while also finishing second in NBB last season.

2023-24 Roster:
Corderro Bennett
Henrique Coelho
Tyrone Curnell
Igor De Jesus Andrade
Vitor Faverani
Ricardo Fischer
Malcolm Miller
Thiago Nunes
Lucas Siewert
Ralfi Ansaloni

Outlook:
Tyrone Curnell, Corderro Bennett and Henrique Coelho are the survivors from the team that on in Season 3, and they now boast a lot of versatility with Malcolm Miller, Ricardo Fischer, Lucas Siewert and Ralfi Ansaloni. Their pedigree makes them a dangerous team, but their shaky domestic start in Brazil raises some doubts.

FIBA